Neighbourhood Spotlight: Jamesville

Jamesville is one of the most popular and historically rich neighbourhoods in Hamilton. It’s also the centre of Hamilton’s cultural renaissance. From Bayfront Park to ArtCrawl, to the Farmers Market, Jamesville is home to many of the cultural staples that Hamilton has come to be known for.

Yet, Jamesville is also home to one of the highest poverty rates in Hamilton, 1/3 Jamesville residents are living below the poverty line. It’s hard to imagine the stark poverty that exists alongside the hip and trendy James St N. For these reasons, it is one of eleven neighbourhoods identified by the City of Hamilton in the Neighbourhood Action Strategy.

Despite all of this, I think the most outstanding thing about Jamesville is the strong sense of community that exists amongst the residents and organizations in the area. Residents have self-organized to advocate for the needs of their community and to improve their neighbourhood. The Jamesville Hub is the resident led community development team. Some of their priorities include complete streets, pedestrian safety, bike lanes, and affordable housing.

Jamesville is also home to many community organizations such as Welcome Inn, a community centre that hosts many different children’s programs and a food bank, New Horizons thrift store, 294 James St N, which is a community hub for residents to use and access to empower themselves, ArtForms, NGen Youth Centre, and many others. There are lots of opportunities to get involved with these groups and work with the Jamesville community to create a better neighbourhood to live, work, and play in for residents.